Nick Swisher

Research and Writing in History

Prof. Julius

March 17, 2010

Research Report # 6: Scholarly Articles

Previously, I wrote of what I had learned from several primary sources and a book. These led me to find the answers to two of my research questions. One of these questions was to determine what impact the Civil War had upon West Virginia and vise versa. I may have answered this question in part, but I believe that I can dig deeper. With the help of two scholarly articles, I intend to further uncover the depth of depth of my question. It has become apparent that the Shenandoah Valley was perhaps the most vital part of West Virginia to the war effort, so I intend to come to a fuller understanding of what happened there.

I had learned that General Sheridan used his Union forces to march through the Shenandoah Valley and strip it bare of resources. However, through the research of these scholarly articles I learned that he was not the first to do so. Apparently there were several generals whom Grant had sent to effectively remove the Shenandoah Valley from the Confederates grasp, but Sheridan was the one who returned with an overwhelming success.  Grant realized that the Shenandoah Valley was important for several reasons. The valley was a critical source of salt and lead to the Confederates as well as the most reliable source for food. Aside from that, the railroads that ran through the valley connected it with several key territories. This enabled the confederates to resupply their troops with the valleys resources, or to shift their forces along those lines quickly. Grant, who was himself too bust on the Eastern front, divided the Valley between three Generals. He commanded General Crook to break one of the major railroad lines; General Averell was told to destroy the salt and lead mines; and General Sigel would attempt to control some of the most direct railroad lines into Richmond, Virginia. [i]

These plans would ultimately fail, mostly due to inept command. Sheridan would later take over the operation and prove it’s decisiveness. Until then however, it was left in the hands of Crook, Averell and Sigel. As their separate campaigns marched onward, Sigel would soon be replaced by another, General Hunter. Crook and Averell would be placed under Hunter’s command. Hunter’s march through the Shenandoah Valley would become even more infamous than Sheridan’s who followed in its wake. Grant ordered Hunter to “Clear the Valley of all enemy forces and all means of supplying the Confederacy, then go after either Charlottesville or Lynchburg.”[ii] Hunter went on to inform his men that they would be living off of what food the valley provided. He was also confronted with the issue of guerrilla warfare. The amount of Confederate soldiers spread throughout the valley was small, so many resorted to sporadic hit and run attacks. Hunter dealt with these in a harsh manner; for every attack made upon his army he would destroy the private property of those living in the valley. Throughout his entire march through the valley his men were burning down houses. The initial idea had been to burn any factories or warehouses that had, or could possibly, aid the Confederates. However, Hunter soon demanded that the houses of Confederate sympathizers be burnt as well. [iii]

As the army marched on, and food supplies grew short, pillaging became a major issue. Hunter seemed willing to allow this, however several of his subordinates would disagree. Men like Averell and Crook would delay Hunter’s orders or attempt to convince him otherwise when he sought to burn down innocent’s houses. Despite their attempts at civility, the Union army would often leave naught more than ash in its wake. Several stories stand out among those of Hunters march, among them are the tales of disobedience from Hunter’s officers who refused to commit heinous acts. For me, however, one of the most interesting stories is that among those officers who defied Hunter was one would-be president of the United States, Rutherford B. Hayes. [iv]

In the end, Hunter’s incompetence as a leader would become apparent. He  marched his forces up to Lynchburg but was met by a small garrison of men led by General Early of the Confederate forces. Hunter was bluffed into believing that the Confederate forces were larger in number than they truly were and he ended up retreating. This led Early to retaliate and march back up the Shenandoah Valley into Maryland which is where Sheridan then repulsed him. All in all, I believe I have learned a great deal more about what the Shenandoah Valley meant to both sides of the war, and even to its inhabitants. Next time, I hope to learn even more about West Virginia in the Civil war with the aid of some books.[v]

---

[i] Ralph Mann, review of Lee’s Endangered Left: The Civil War in Western
Virginia, Spring of 1864, by Richard R. Duncan, The Journal of American History
87 (June 2000): https://ezproxy.stevenson.edu:1443/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/

login.aspx?direct=true&db=ahl&AN=A000482627.01&site=ehost-live (accessed March
17, 2010).

[ii] L. VanLoan Naisawald, “Fire and Ashes in the Valley,” Civil War Times
45 (2006): https://ezproxy.stevenson.edu:1443/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/
login.aspx?direct=true&db=ahl&AN=A800003302.01&site=ehost-live (accessed March
17, 2010).

[iii] IBID

[iv] IBID

[v] IBID

Nick Swisher

Research and Writing in History

Prof. Julius

March 2, 2010

Research Report # 5: The Importance of W. Va. and letters from Thomas N. Swisher

Having answered the 4th of my research questions, what were the battles that Alpheus fought in like, I now strive to answer the others. In this research report I believe that I will have answered 2 more of the questions. First, I will discuss why West Virginia was important to the war and why life there may have been rougher for its inhabitants than in other states. I will base my answer primarily around what I learned from the book The Civil War by Bruce Catton. Second, although I have not been able to discover what life may have been like for Alphues’ wife and family, I was able to find what life was like for the family of a relative of his. The relative is Thomas N. Swisher, a man who served in Battery F along with Alpheus.[1] Thomas sent several letters home to his wife, and I have used them to grasp what life may have been like for him and his family. Also, I will be using the book Yankee Artillerymen by John W. Rowell to further understand what an average artilleryman like Alpheus wore and fought with during the war.

Perhaps the reason that West Virginia was so important during the war was the region of Winchester that lay within it. Winchester changed hands 72 times during the war and remained important throughout the war for several reasons. For one, Winchester was the central point of 9 different wagon roads and a railroad to boot. Primarily however, Winchester was invaluable because of its relation to Shenandoah Valley. Winchester lay at the end of the Valley, and safe passage through the Valley could be easily secured only by controlling the Winchester area. [2] Aside from that, the Valley was also valued for its resources. It yielded enough natural sustenance and grains from farming to sustain an army marching through it almost indefinitely. [3]

Shenandoah Valley created a direct route for the Rebel forces to march through and into the areas surrounding the Union Capital. Conversely, it was almost useless to the Union as an avenue into Confederate territory as it would only place them further away from the Rebel capital. Despite this, the Union fought hard to control the Valley. They did so specifically to hinder any Rebel advances.  Control over the Shenandoah Valley became a necessity during the war, and both sides fought vigorously for it.[4]

After Confederate officer Jubal Early marched his forces all the way to the Union capital of Washington D.C., Union general Grant decided to solve the Shenandoah Valley problem. Grant placed Phil Sheridan as the commander of the operation and gave Sheridan specific orders. Sheridan was to defeat Early and remove Shenandoah Valley from the war. Grant said he “wanted the rich farmlands of the Valley despoiled so thoroughly that the place could no longer support a Confederate army; he told Sheridan to devastate the whole area so thoroughly that a crow flying across over the Valley would have to carry its own rations.”[5]

Sheridan proceeded to fulfill this order, ravaging barns, cattle, crops and any other resources as he moved along. In this way, those civilians who lived within Shenandoah Valley certainly had it rougher than in other areas as they were simply “left out to dry”. It wasn’t until later that Sheridan forces finally met Early’s. Sheridan’s delay in attacking Early was likely founded in the majority of veteran soldiers that made up Early’s smaller force. Despite this, Sheridan larger force won out, and Early was forced to retreat. The second battle between the two would be a repeat of the first, and it seemed as if Early would be forced to allow Sheridan’s destruction of the Valley. [6]

The ravaging of the Valley would not go uncontested however; groups of Confederate guerrillas began to attack Sheridan’s forces. The guerrillas became a big problem for Sheridan and he was forced to retaliate with full force. All guerrilla fighters that were captured by the Union forces were hung on the spot, and thus the guerrillas began to do the same to captured Union soldiers. The hangings, coupled with the destruction of civilian property, led to bitter feelings between both sides and was perhaps one of the ugliest times of the war. [7]

Everything came to a climax when Early attacked Sheridan’s forces for the final time. Early’s attack came as a surprise to the Union troops who largely believed that Early had become docile after the defeats. The attack favored Early as the Union forces retreated. However, those retreating troops were met by Sheridan as he marched back from Winchester. Sheridan rallied his troops together and launched a counter attack upon Early. The attack crushed Early’s troops and he was forced to retreat. By that time, his forces were so minimal that he was no longer a threat to Sheridan. Sheridan’s victory also aided Lincoln by silencing the voices of dissenters who felt the war was going poorly for the Union. [8]

Meanwhile, the ever day soldier of the Union simply carried on with their hardships. One such soldier was Thomas N. Swisher, who had recently been informed by letter that his mother passed away. Thomas wrote back to his wife, Sarah, lamenting that he could not go to his own mother’s funeral. Instead, Thomas had been assigned as a Sergeant within Battery F of the West Virginia Light Artillery. Thomas wrote to his wife saying that, although he had not yet met all of them, the members of Battery F were quite merry and tolerable.[9]

In a much later letter, Thomas writes to his wife from Camp Berry, Washington D.C. after the Battle of Martinsburg.  He writes of the sickness that is rampant throughout the troops.[10] Looking at the totaled losses that Battery F suffered throughout the war, staggering amounts are from sickness or related incidents. A total of 33 men were killed or died of wounds as a result of battle, where as 131 men died due to sickness, accidents or while in prison. These numbers hold true for most regiments in the Civil War. More so than the opposing force, sickness was considered the largest threat to a soldier’s life. [11] Indeed, even Thomas wrote of his recovery from a sickness. He even stated in his letter that, “There is a number of boys in our Battery that are sick…”. [12]

The other thing that Thomas brings to our attention is the reality of command within the army. He mentions to his wife the resignation of one of the officers, Lieutenant Herr. He goes on to support the resignation, telling her privately that Herr and another officer were nowhere to be seen once Confederate artillery had opened upon them in battle. It was intriguing to hear the more shameful side of battle, as one is used to only hearing of triumphs and the courage of officers. [13]

I also learned from Thomas’ letters what life must have been like for his wife. Thomas mentions in one letter that “As I don’t know anything about your Domestic affairs I will omit
saying anything about them trusting to your judgement for the management
of your affairs.” [14]It is apparent that when he was home, her affairs must have been dictated by him. However, now that he was away, she led a life of somewhat more freedom.

Thomas also writes home regarding a drought in his family’s area. He writes, “I want you to write to me as soon as this comes to hand and let me know whether you are all agoing to starve to death or not I understand that you are not going to raise anything in western Va on account of the drought If you can’t raise anything to live on use your money as economical as possible provide for yourself and the children if it takes every cent of my wages”. [15] In this way we may be aware of the severe issues that his family was going through at the time.

More familiar now with what life was like for the soldiers and their families, I became curious about the specifics of being an artilleryman. Looking to the book Yankee Artillerymen I hoped to find out what the basics were.

The artillery guns that Battery F likely used were nicknamed “Rodmans” due to the cast method developed by Captain T. J. Rodman. These “Rodmans” were 3-inch ordnance guns. However, the military used a more primitive cannon at the beginning of the war called smoothbore guns. These were classified by the weight of their ammunition, the average being a 6 or 12 pounder. The “Rodman” shells weighed around 9 pounds and used only 1 charge of powder. The 820 pound “Rodman” guns were typically mounted upon a carriage and drawn by 6 hourses.[16]

The Union artillerymen wore uniforms similar to the uniforms of the Union cavalry. The difference between the two was that the yellow cavalry trim was replaced with a scarlet one and the insignia changed from crossed sabers to crossed cannons. Overcoats were worn for winter weather and ponchos of rubberized cloth were used for the rain. [17]

The similarity between the artillery and cavalry uniforms actually caused some troubles for the artillerymen. Apparently, cavalrymen were not highly respected by foot soldiers. Since the artillerymen used the horses only for travel and would fight on foot during battles, they would tear any distinctive yellow marks from their uniforms so as not to be mistaken for cavalrymen. [18] With this information, I feel as if I have a stronger hold upon what it was like for both West Virginia and the common soldier during the Civil War.

Nick Swisher

Research and Writing in History

Prof. Julius

February 24, 2010

Research Report: Battle of Martinsburg and Kernstown

It is apparent from my sources that Alpheus’s Battery, Battery F, saw action in Martinsburg during June 14^th and also fought in the Battle of Kernstown. One of the questions I posed at the beginning of this project, question four, was wondering what battles Alpheus had fought in and what they were like. In pursuit of that question, I have researched these two battles in depth and the results were quite fruitful. The Battle of Martinsburg was heavily covered by The Baltimore Sun no more than a day or two after its occurrence, and as such I was able to obtain detailed primary resources. My research of the Battle of Kernsburg was perhaps even easier, since I had stumbled upon an online article that detailed the entire battle in great length and depth. Using these resources I was able to learn of what happened at both of these battles, and even of what the artillery was contributing to each. It is with great excitement that I relay what I have learned of both the battles.

I shall address the battles in chronological order. The Battle of Martinsburg began on June 14^th and ended around June 18^th, the Battle of Kernsburg soon followed, occurring on July 24^th. However, previous to the Battle of Martinsburg, Battery F of the West Virginia Light Artillery was located at Berryville which plays an important role in the Battle of Martinsburg.

Battery F was stationed in Berryville under the command of Col. McReynolds, they were among the 3000 soldiers hold up in that village. As part of the attack on Martinsburg, confederate forces also attacked Berryville. Col. McReynolds was requested to aid the fight in Martinsburg, so he pushed his 3,000-strong force through the Confederate forces and up towards Martinsburg. There he joined with Gen. Milroy, and thus Battery F’s participation in the Battle of Martinsburg began.

At around four o clock Confederate forces numbering around 3 – 5,000 reached Martinsburg from two roads, one of the roads being the road from Berryville to Martinsburg. In this way, one can imagine that the Rebel forces must have been hot on the heels of Col. McReynolds, Battery F, and the other soldiers retreating from Berryville. The Rebels demanded the surrender of Martinsburg to which the Union forces refused; this began the first of the battles that would span several days.

The Union employed several artillery Batteries, however some proved more useful than others. On the front lines, skirmishes between the Union and Rebel infantry were so continuous and condensed that the Union artillery supporting them could only launch an occasional shell to halt Rebel advances. In contrast, artillery stationed further to the right was able to pummel Confederate forces that lay in wait in the woods.

Confederate forces pressed at an opposite flank soon enough, but they were met by Milroy’s troops and were fired upon. The flanking team fled back into the woods which Milroy mistook for a route and quickly sent forces in pursuit. Milroy’s forces were met by a mass of Rebel forces which opened fired upon the startled Union soldiers. The author of a newspaper article that documented this stated that the “enemy opened upon them with a murderous fire.” Rebel forces then focused their artillery fire upon the main fort while their infantry charged the outworks that held an Ohio Battery of Union artillery. The artillerymen were forced to retreat as the Rebels breached their line.

Martinsburg was now surrounded on three sides, forcing Milroy to call back all his artillery and soldiers posted upon the outworks to now focus on defending the main works. Artillery fire volleyed back and forth between the armies throughout the night. Once the sun rose the Rebels charged but were quickly repelled by the mass of Union gunfire. A break in the fighting now ensued, and Milroy took advantage of this by calling a war council. It was determined that the best course of action would be to retreat to Harpers Ferry as quickly as possible. The Union forces pulled out of Martinsburg carrying nothing but the clothes on their backs. Mass amounts of light artillery, heavy guns, carts and other cumbersome items were left behind to be claimed by the Rebels.

The fighting did not end there however, the escape to Harpers Ferry proved treacherous. Confederate forces fired upon the routed Union forces mercilessly and many were killed. The Rebel forced followed in pursuit and were able to capture both the 18^th Connecticut and the 5^th Maryland Infantry.

The Battle of Kernsburg was, in contrast, a complete victory for the Union forces. In fact, the Battle of Kernsburg is marked as “Stonewall” Jackson’s (a Rebel general) only defeat in open battle. The Battle of Kernsburg is a result of the importance of the Winchester area in relation to the war. After the Battle of Martinsburg the Rebels had put their foot in the door, so to speak, and now the Union forces wanted to push them back out. The General in command of the occupying Confederate forces was “Stonewall” Jackson, the leader of the invading Union forces was General Shields.

Shields and his invading force had pushed their way back into Winchester and were now closing in on Jackson. However, due to some faulty reports, Jackson was led to believe that the invading Union force was much smaller than it really was. Upon reaching Kernstown, the Union forces were met by Confederate opposition. Shields was aware of Jackson’s misguided belief of their numbers, and thus the Union forces hid their size from the enemy. Perhaps due to this, the Confederates abandoned a strategic hill when confronted by heavy artillery fire, Pritchard’s Hill. Jumping on the opportunity, the Union forces set up shop on the hill and continued to bombard the enemy forces. Jackson, arriving at Kernstown only now, focused his forces upon retrieving Pritchard’s Hill.

Rather than assault the hill strait on, which would have been foolish, Jackson attempted to flank it. He sent a diversion force to the right and then ordered the bulk of his forces to flank the left side. The objective was to reach the tree line to the left of the hill, and beyond that a small wall that could provide ample defense. However, the leading brigade of the left flank was fired upon heavily and retreated to a nearby ridge. This caused Jackson to panic slightly and he lead his own forces to support the leading brigade. At this point, he sent word to another officer to maneuver his forces to attack, but the officer was currently aiding a different brigade. A general confusion ensued as Jackson saw that the officer’s forces were not advancing, forcing him to see to it himself. Right then however, the officer received the order and halted the brigade he had been helping to further clarify the orders first. This confusion was taken advantage by Shields and Union artillery fired down upon the confused forces as best they could.

Jackon finally reached the tree line however, and then beat the Union forces to the wall. At this time the Union revealed their hidden forces and attacked the soldiers that Jackson sent on the right flank. The Rebel forces were able to hold the wall for a while longer, repelling several Union advances. However they eventually sounded the retreat which quickly became disorganized and turned into a rout. This ended the Battle of Kernsburg, no doubt a great victory for the Union. It excites me that my ancestor was part of such historic battles, no doubt he and his fellow artillerymen were invaluable during those battles.

Nick Swisher

Research and Writing in History

Prof. Julius

February 17, 2010

Research Report: Military Service

Having discovered that Alpheus belonged to Battery F, and then later Battery A, of the West Virginia Light Artillery I endeavored to find what service these batteries performed. Through the research of one of my sources, I was able to determine the movements and battles of both batteries throughout the war.

First, I took into account the length, start and end of Alpheus’s service. Alpheus served from October 1, 1862 until June 13^th, 1865. Having acquired his times in the military, I can be sure of when he served in each of the Batteries. Now, it appears that Battery F was formed on April 8^th, 1683 from an infantry unit. This is odd, since this happens a year after Alpheus was enlisted, yet he shows no record of having been in any earlier battery. This begs the question of where he served in his first year of service, however I will have to find that answer later.

Battery F moved round Maryland and Virginia throughout the war. Having started with duty at Clarksburg W. Va. and then Cumberland Md. They shifted for a while between Martinsburg, New Creek and Berryville before seeing action back at Martinsburg on June 14^th.  This is known as the Battle of Martinsburg, and was part of the Gettysburg Campaign. For this short entry I am going to refrain from researching the battle in detail, however I will return to it at a later time. Battery F retreated from Martinsburg to Harpers Ferry after the battle. They had duty as Camp Barry and participated in the defenses of Washington. The final great act of Battey F was their participation in the Battle of Kernstown, more on that battle later as well. After this, the battery was transferred to Battery A on September 14, 1864.

I will list the actions of Battery A only from the time that Battery F joined it, and onwards. This is to leave out any information that is irrelevant to Alpheus and his time in the military. Battery A did little service after 1864. The moved around from Parkesburg, Maryland Heights and Charlestown. They then served in Kanawha valley until the entire battery was mustered out of service on July 27, 1865. Of course Alpheus was released from service earlier than that, likely due to the de-escalation of the war in that area.

It is my intention to further research those two major battles, the Battle of Martinsburg and the Battle of Kernstown. I also want to research what it was like to be part of the defenses of Washington as well as some of the areas they were stationed at.  With those battles uncovered, I will be closer to fully understanding my ancestor’s involvement during the Civil War.

Nick Swisher

Research and Writing in History

Prof. Julius

February 6, 2010

Research Report # 2: Websites

In my search for information on Alpheus Swisher, my ancestor who fought in the Civil War, I have been fortunate enough to come across several websites that directly aid in that cause. However, the first step of my research was to simply confirm that I had a relative in the Civil War, and to find out their name, since I was unaware of Alpheus at the start of my research. I began searching for websites that would list the names of soldiers who fought in the war, and since military records are easily available, this came with little effort. In fact, I found a website that delivered more than just the soldiers’ names; it gave me their rank, state, company, birth and death dates, and their cemetery information. The site was called “Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War” and it was where I first found information on Alpheus. The site’s search page has a number of fields to fill in; last name, first name, state, unit, ect.  I simply supplied the last name of Swisher and saw where that would take me. This brought up a list of forty-four names, all Swishers. I was able to narrow these down to four soldiers who were from West Virginia, where my family is from. More specifically, my grandfather moved to Maryland from Fairview, West Virginia. With this is mind, I narrowed the list further down to the two soldier from Fairmont, West Virginia, which is right next to Fairview. Both soldiers are likely to be part of my family line; however I decided to focus more specifically on Alphues. The other soldier, a Thomas Nelson Swisher, has significantly less information available about them. However, there are some letters written by Thomas to his wife that I found, and I may use them as well.

Having found the names of my ancestors, it was my job to know find more information regarding them. Luckily for me, a relative of mine had already compiled such research into a site of their own. I browsed her website, called “Alpheus Swisher Maze”, and was astounded at how much information was present. It was here that I found the letters that Thomas N. Swisher had written, as well as photos of the family and a detailed family history. This site has provided most of my information about Alpheus, more specifically from the detailed family history. Although the history only delves minimally into Alpheus’s military information, I intend to find more on this from other sources. Hoping to gather more information on the battles he had fought, I researched the company he served in.

Alpheus served in the 1^st West Virginia Light Artillery, Battery A, F. I was at first confused by the separate batteries he fought in, so I researched them. I found a site called “West Virginia in the Civil War” which helped greatly in this pursuit. The site gave detailed information on every West Virginia regiment, including all the batteries of the Light Artillery. It appears that Battery F was later transferred into Battery A, thus solving our mystery. This also gave me the general knowledge of what battles those batteries fought in. Hopefully, this would mean that my ancestor fought in those as well. I will proceed to research those battles, and what life was like for those batteries, as my research goes on.

Works Cited

Cunningham, Steven A. West Virginia in the Civil War. http://www.wvcivilwar.com/ (accessed February 6, 2010).

Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War. Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War. http://www.suvcwdb.org/home/index.php (accessed February 6, 2010).

Turner, Helen Swisher. Alpheus Swisher Maze. http://webspace.webring.com/people/bu/um_5524/swishindx.html (accessed February 6, 2010).

Nicholas Swisher

Research and Writing in History

Prof. Julius

January 30 2010

First Research Report: Proposal

For my report I am researching a topic which has gone unanswered in my family for too long. We are aware that our relatives are from West Virginia, which is also the origin of our family tree, however more than that is not known. We therefore know very little about our family’s past. The name “Swisher” comes from the Swedish “Schweitzer”, which was either lost while our forefather entered America or was changed by him. I intended to discover the deeper recesses of our family tree and to bring to light certain historic figures in our line. In this vain, I will be researching a relative of mine and the war in which he fought, the Civil War. The relative is named Alpheus Swisher, and through some preliminary research I was able to determine that he was a member of the Union army and served as a light artilleryman.

Despite what I know of him and the era so far, I have other important questions that I intend to find the answers to. They are as follows:

1. Why did Alpheus join the army? There is mention of him being “mustered into service” but does that mean he was drafted or he joined by a sense of duty.
2. What was his family doing during the war? By this I mean were any other immediate family members in the war, if so for which side did they fight? Also, what was life like for his wife during his service?
3. How did West Virginia, as a whole, fair during the war? Was life rougher for those that lived there than in other places? How many battles were fought on their home ground? Also, what where their major contributions to the Union during the war?

Hopefully, with these questions answered, I will have gained significant insight of which I can use for my paper. That can then be used to enlighten my family members, and those family members to come, on the topic of our origin.

I have many ideas on how to approach the research of this topic. Having done some preliminary research, I am aware that there are several valuable resources available to me. Among them is a website done by a distant family member who includes several primary resources as well as a detailed family tree. For example, there is a photo gallery within the site that contains a picture of Alpheus and his wife. I am also hoping to interview the creator of the site, Helen Swisher Turner, to uncover so unanswered questions.

I just recently visited the library in search of any books that may be of aid. I was fortunate enough to find two books that would help me. One was Maryland in the Civil War, which will help me to uncover what the battles my ancestor fought in were like, since I am aware that his company fought several battles in Maryland. Second, is Yankee Artillerymen, which is of obvious value since Alpheus fought as a light artilleryman. With this book I hope to uncover what the war was like for him and other artillerymen on a personal level.  I also intend to find newspaper articles of the time that may be of relevance to my ancestor’s campaign, or to the Civil War in his area.

I first plan to do research regarding Alpheus and his family. I need to gather my resources about him and formulate a clear understanding of the time he spent in the military. After that, I will research his close family, to better realize what they where up to during that time. Once I have fully researched the doings of my family within the war, I can take a step back to view a broader scope of their state during the war.

Researching West Virginia during the war may be easier, but to understand every part of it is much tougher. I will try to focus on things relevant to my ancestor, however I will branch out to try and understand more about it in general.

Once the general research is all done, I plan to answer the questions that I posed, and perhaps to ask some more. I am certain that with further understanding on some issues, I will become more curious about others, therefore I must deal with all questions from the start to the end of this project.

I have done some preliminary research on my topic, the Swisher who fought in the Civil War.

The results for my starting research where actually quite promising. I visited a free database and found about seven Swishers who fought during the war. I narrowed this down to one, names Alpheus Swisher, who lived in West Virgina. I was able to do this because he was the only Swisher who had come from West Virginia, where my family originates. It then gave my his rank, company and such. I was then able to look him up further and found a site that a relative of mine created in order to spread his legacy. The site not only contained his hostory, but that of the entire Swisher family. Apparently Aplheus served three years in the war and returned alive. It appears that his Company did not serve at Ghettysburg, however a similar West Virginia company did. I look forward to researching that further, to deterimine which Swisher it was that fought at the battle of Ghettysburg. For now, I am happy with this.

Toast is a wonderful invention.